Solo Cycle Touring for the First Time | Cycling in Northern Germany from Hamburg to Berlin

Solo cycle touring was a big adjustment for me. Cycling across Germany, though it was flat, was one of the most psychologically challenging parts of the cycle tour. I’d never spent so much time alone, and I struggled to get used to it. Cycling alone almost broke me. At times, the loneliness was overwhelming and I’d struggle to see how I’d last a month, let alone a year, on the road by myself.

It wasn’t the isolation in the moment that bothered me, but the creeping sensation that this is what life would be like for the next year. By the end of the first day, I was already thinking of how I’d have to explain to my friends and family that I hadn’t been able to handle it and had to quit and come home.

The German countryside was beautiful, though, and as I was getting to grips with solo cycle touring, cycled along the banks of the river Elbe from Hamburg to Berlin. I stuck to one of the least-densely populated parts of Germany in Brandenburg, and was kept company by the migrating birds and wildlife around me. It was fascinating to stop off in the historical village of Lenzen, and to pass old East German guard towers, since part of my route took me along the old border between East and West Germany (the Communist G.D.R.). Cycling through Germany was at least not too physically daunting, until I got ill just outside Berlin, and had to cycle for another 80 kilometres while feeling very unwell.

The German weather started out warm, but on my approach to Berlin it didn’t look to kindly on me, and I ended up cycling in a storm for about 10 hours. But cycle touring in Germany was my first solo step towards reaching Azerbaijan, and I felt pretty proud of myself when I arrived in Berlin, even though I hadn’t yet travelled that far.

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BACKGROUND:
For the last 1.5 years, I’ve been on a cycle tour from Tromsø in Northern Norway to Baku, Azerbaijan, while interviewing locals along the way for my blog. Cycle touring for beginners like me can be intimidating; I’d ridden a bike 4 times in the previous 10 years before this journey, but I decided to jump in at the deep end and learn about bikepacking and touring while I was on the road. After watching a few videos on “how to cycle tour”, I set off, and covered 11 countries by bike (and took detours to another 2).

Long distance cycle touring alone was always a challenge, but one that I got used to after about a month, and eventually started to truly appreciate. I didn’t have much cycling gear or expertise, and I resorted to using an old Trek mountain bike that I got for free, which was frustrating at times, but I found motivation in the locals I met along the way, and the far-flung places I reached off the beaten track.

The adventure by bike introduced me to a new side of travel. Never before had I interacted so much with local people and my surroundings, when I’d been abroad or been so exposed to the kindness of strangers. Travelling so slowly as I pedalled made me feel immersed in the countries and cultures I cycled through, and it forced me to stop in some of the more obscure places the world has to offer. All in all, cycling the world shows you a side of some countries that most travellers never get to appreciate.

Find more from the adventure (cycling across Eurasia, interviewing locals along the way) below:
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